Alternative Offers

Our alternative offers (changed course offers) are usually in a similar subject and are designed to help you get back on track with your original chosen course. Alternative offers may include a different USW course, a place on a Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE) course, foundation year, or foundation degree.

What is a foundation year?

We offer 4 year degree programmes with an integrated Foundation Year in a number of subject areas for applicants who do not meet the entry criteria to go directly onto a degree course at the University of South Wales.

What is a foundation degree?

Foundation degrees combine work-based learning and academic study. At least a quarter of your time will be in the workplace, learning skills valued by an employer. Entry qualifications are varied and we will take into account any relevant skills and experience you have already. 

It takes three years to complete a foundation degree part-time, where you can use your work experience as part of your degree, or just two years for full-time study.

On completion you could have the opportunity to “top-up” to an honours degree. Please note some STEM courses require a two year top up rather than one.

What is a certificate of higher education? (Cert HE)

For applicants who may be unsuccessful for Nursing, we offer a Certificate in Higher Education in Community Health and Wellbeing. This one-year programme teaches students about health and social care, public health and wellbeing in the community. You would need to make a new application for Nursing in the future if you wished to apply for consideration again and there is no guarantee of an interview.

What about my student finance application?

If your course has changed, and you have already applied for funding for the 2024/25 academic year, you will need to update your online funding application as soon as possible with the new course information. 

You can do this by logging into your online application, at the relevant website below, and completing a 'Change of Circumstances' process with the new course information. You will need your Customer Reference Number (CRN) and password in order to log in.

If you cannot remember your password or CRN you can reset your login details by following the instructions online:

Students from Wales
Students from England
Students from Northern Ireland
Students from Scotland

Please note that if your course choice changes to a further education course, you can contact the Student Money Advice Team on 01443 483778 for further guidance regarding your funding options.

What about my application for accommodation?

If you have received a changed course offer and have already applied for a place in our halls of residence, then your application will remain unaffected.

Pontypridd Campus:

If you have applied for halls you should have received an email containing your self-assignment date.  You should still be able to complete your room assignment on the designated date if you experience any difficulty with this please contact the accommodation team on [email protected] for assistance.

Cardiff Campus:

Applications for our Cardiff campus are directly through our partner Unite. If you have already booked and confirmed your place you won’t need to do anything further.

Newport City Campus:

Applications for Newport Halls are directly through our partner CLV. If you have already booked and confirmed your place you won’t need to do anything further.

Apply for Accommodation:

If you have yet to apply to us for accommodation, then you can find out about late availability of accommodation.

What do I do next?

If you applied to us in the normal UCAS application cycle and have been made an alternative / changed course offer on UCAS Hub for any of the above types of courses and would like to accept this offer, you need to log into your UCAS Hub and accept the change of course.  You will have 5 days in which to accept the change of course offer on your UCAS Hub or UCAS will decline this on your behalf. If you do not want to accept the change of course you can decline our offer by logging into your UCAS Hub. If you are not holding any offers, you will be eligible to look at other courses or universities through Clearing.

To guarantee your place and accommodation you should accept as soon as possible.

If you have been made an offer to study on one of the above courses through Clearing, then you will receive an offer e-mail explaining your next steps.

If you are interested in applying for a USW course in Clearing, contact us and one of our experts will be happy to help you.